Can Manchester City Win the Champions League Again?

A lot has changed for the blue half of the city since the ruling family of the UAE bought the club back in 2008 – but it had all led to the moment the most prestigious trophy in European club soccer was held aloft.
A lot of money has been spent as well. There hasn’t been too much invested in the summer though – and Pep Guardiola is largely putting his trust in the players he already has to come back even better this year. It will be difficult for the current side to improve, considering just how much silverware it collected last season. But winning the Champions League again would certainly help.
Most of the top rated sportsbooks have Manchester City to repeat this season. But can Pep really do it all again?
Champions at Last
It may not have been the most dominant display of the campaign but the 1-0 win over Inter in Turkey that rounded off the European club season in June helped Manchester City prove that they deserve to be included in the conversation about the world’s biggest clubs.
After years of watching its crosstown rival collect winners’ medals in a variety of competitions, it has been City that has dominated the English game in recent times. But winning the Champions League was something special. It could be argued that City should have won it before last season – but nothing can take that victory away from the club now.
Packed Schedule
One of the factors Manchester City will have to face in becoming repeat European champions is that the team will play a lot of games this season. The Community Shield has already been lost to Arsenal, but the UEFA Super Cup has also made its way to the Etihad after City beat Sevilla on penalties.
Now Guardiola has a possible five more trophies to collect. The EPL title and the two domestic cups have been won before and City will also now take part in the Club World Cup at the end of the year. Success breeds success, but it also brings more games to fit into an already bursting schedule. Some squad rotation will be needed if all five remaining competitions are to be won.
Midfield Woes
Guardiola will also need to figure out how to deal without two of the club’s best players from last season. Much is said about the qualities that Erling Haaland brought to City when he joined from Borussia Dortmund">Borussia Dortmund. But he would not have scored as many goals as he has without the creativity of Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne.
Gündogan played his last game for City in that Champions League final, as he joined Barcelona to face the next challenges in his career. De Bruyne is still at the club but will miss a chunk of time through injury. He missed the majority of the final after limping off with a hamstring injury – and the issue flared up again on the opening day of the EPL season. He will now miss three to four months of what could be a very important part of the campaign.
Favorites Again
As we said earlier, Manchester City is the favorite to win the Champions League again. With the final scheduled to be played at Wembley Stadium, Guardiola’s side will definitely be fancied if it makes it to that game. But a lot can happen in the preceding group stage and knockout rounds.
City was impressively dominant last season, topping a potentially tricky group while going unbeaten in the six games – and then blowing away RB Leipzig, Bayern and Real Madrid, scoring 17 goals in the three ties. Doing it all over again should be more difficult, but who looks like being able to beat this side?
Teams to Beat
All of the main challengers for the Champions League title this season have attempted to strengthen their squads in order to usurp City. Some have also lost players – many to Saudi Arabian sides – but there are some familiar names standing in the way of another City clean sweep.
Real Madrid may have lost Karim Benzema in the offseason (so no more late escapes this season) but it does still have a frighteningly good squad. Jude Bellingham is the standout name from the new arrivals – and he will be an excellent attacking force for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. But even a youngster like the Turkey international Arda Güler will be a threat.
Los Blancos have also suffered some early season injuries to top players, but this is the competition that the club want to win above all others – and it won’t want to hand it over to City so easily once again. Paris Saint-Germain, even with the talent of Kylian Mbappé, will do well to beat City to the title, but it is the German champions that could make things difficult for Pep.
The arrival of Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur has been the main story of the summer in the Bundesliga. He has moved to Bayern in order to win trophies and a realistic chance of winning the Champions League will be a major reason for Kane swapping London for Munich. Bayern may not be able to match some of the other clubs for money, but bringing in Kim Min-jae from Napoli also means that the side will have huge players both up front and at the back.
More Success
It seems unlikely that Manchester City could finish this season without winning at least one trophy. But even becoming the first English club to win four straight league titles would not compare with winning the Champions League again. No other side apart from Real Madrid has managed back-to-back triumphs since the competition’s format change in 1992.
There is definitely still the hunger for more titles at Manchester City. But Guardiola may need some luck – and some good news on the injury front – if the ribbons on the famous old trophy remain sky blue next June.